Walnut?

[Victor Van Meter]

I am leaning toward having a select cut done and will include them in the cut trees since they hold little-to-no whitetail value. Thanks for all the replies.

VV

 

[Teeder]

I have a good batch of bitternut Hickory at my hunting property. The stand I got my buck out of this past season is leaning on a big one. Numerous times I had multiple deer under me crunching on those nuts. Couldn't believe the racket they were making! Id never thought deer liked Hickory, but it was obvious they were there for those nuts.

 

[b116757]

I have a good batch of bitternut Hickory at my hunting property. The stand I got my buck out of this past season is leaning on a big one. Numerous times I had multiple deer under me crunching on those nuts. Couldn't believe the racket they were making! Id never thought deer liked Hickory, but it was obvious they were there for those nuts.

Interesting I really didn’t think deer would eat those ridiculously hard hickory nuts either maybe they do. I’ve got smooth bark hickory behind the house that I usually just kill in my crown releasing of oaks and walnuts maybe I need to set up a camera under one this fall and see if my deer eat them.

 

[Lucky_P]

Bitternut is Nature's ultimate practical joke - thin shell... as thin as some pecans, high kernel percentage, many crack out intact halves... but most are so astringent that even the squirrels won't touch them until everything else is gone. But... every once in a while, we run across one that is non-astringent... wonder if Teeder's tree is one of those... I'd be interested in getting my mitts on a few of those nuts to sample & maybe some dormant scionwood, if they're truly nonastringent.
There is a small, but growing group of folks who are gathering and propagating particularly productive bitternut(yellowbud) hickories and bitternutXpecan hybrids (bitcans) for cold-pressed hickory oil. The tannins that give the mouth-turning astringency are water-soluble, so are left behind when the nuts are pressed, and the oil has no astringency.
I've worked with, and supplied plant materials to these two guys: https://www.vnews.com/Hickory-Nut-Gatherers-Set-Sights-on-Cooking-Oil-Production-52931372
And these folks, as well: https://www.ashevillenuttery.com/product/hickory-oil/1

My place was last logged about 1987... may be time to think about a select harvest... but I'll probably have them leave all the hickories!

 

[Lucky_P]

IDK if deer will eat hardshell hickory nuts, like mockernut/pignut, shagbark or shellbark - I've never witnessed them eating them, or found any in rumen contents - but I can assure you that they will - and do - eat pecans at any opportunity.

 

[b116757]

The deer will be under my native pecan behind the garage in years it produces enough for some to hit the ground that the squirrels didn’t beat me and the deer to but it’s not a reliably heavy producing tree. Hopefully my grafted trees once they start producing are more reliable.